


A Sign of Trust

by Banashee



Series: 65 Random Prompts [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Domestic Avengers, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Love, Platonic Relationships, Short & Sweet, Team as Family, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22419073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banashee/pseuds/Banashee
Summary: Natasha has her own, special way in showing trust to people she likes.*+~A small shadow creeps in from the door way, silent and stealthily. Then, just a moment later,Phil finds himself with the weight of another person on his shoulders, a flash of bright red hair near his face and a pale hand reaching past him for the top cabinet.“Good morning to you, too, Agent Romanov.” he replies in that dry, amused tone of voice of his, and a small snort comes from the kitchen table, almost drowned out from the pot of coffee that Clint is still clutching in a deathgrip while he drinks.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Phil Coulson & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanov & Avengers Team
Series: 65 Random Prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606429
Comments: 10
Kudos: 127





	A Sign of Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt list thingy with my dear friend @banana_ink.  
> Full prompt list can be found here:  
> https://banashee.tumblr.com/post/190342596571/65-random-writing-prompts

**A Sign of Trust**

It's still mostly dark in the small, wooden house, hidden in the deep forests of Norway. Only one room is illuminated, warm, flickering lights coming from several candles and oil lights. It looks cozy and romantic – comfortable even, especially given that is technically a SHIELD safehouse.

Early in the day like this, there isn't much conversation taking place.

Phil is busy on the stove flipping pancakes, while Clint is seated at the table, chopping fruit with one hand and holding a pot of pitch black coffee with the other while he drinks from it, not bothering with a mug.

A small shadow creeps in from the door way, silent and stealthily. Then, just a moment later,Phil finds himself with the weight of another person on his shoulders, a flash of bright red hair near his face and a pale hand reaching past him for the top cabinet.

“Good morning to you, too, Agent Romanov.” he replies in that dry, amused tone of voice of his, and a small snort comes from the kitchen table, almost drowned out from the pot of coffee that Clint is still clutching in a deathgrip while he drinks.

A hum is the only answer Phil gets from Natasha though. He didn't expect anything else, knowing that not one single person including himself in Strike Team Delta is of any use in the mornings, unless the world is burning down. Today is not one of those days – they're stuck in a safehouse for the next 48 hours waiting for extraction and it's like a small vacation really, because they don't have to do anything – even debrief and mission reports are all done, because they had to spend the evening somehow and now there is nothing to do but wait.

Just as quick as she climbed onto his shoulders, Natasha hops back down with a jar of Nutella and a satisfied look on her face. She leaves it on the table, then makes a turn for the bathroom.

Phil looks back with a question mark over his head.

“You'll get used to that. She does this sometimes.” Clint shrugs.

“Not to me.”

“Apparently she does now.”

“That happened to you before?”

“Yup. Happened since a few months or so. I don't mind.”

Phil chooses to take this as a compliment. Natasha Romanov has been with SHIELD for a little over a year now, and he's happy that she seems to be comfortable enough to trust them – well, mostly she seems to trust Clint and himself. But it's more than he would have hoped for in the beginning.

“You know, it's still better than you throwing knifes at unsuspecting people.”

“Hey, that's a sign of affection and you know it!”

“I do. But most people don't.”

“Well, there is a reason that you're my favorite, Sir.”

“That's both flattering and concerning, I'll have you know, Agent.”

“Noted, Boss.” Clint grins, and lifts his almost empty pot of coffee in a toast.

*+~

Natasha Romanov is many things. Ex-Red Room and Ex KGB Spy, Assassine, SHEILD Agent. Friend, colleague, sparring partner. Secret lover of cheesy novels and bad puns. Highly intelligent, capable and deadly all over.

She's also too short to reach the upper cabinets without climbing a kitchen counter or unsuspecting co-workers. When she needs to reach the bottom of the deep chest type freezers in grocery stores, her feet leave the ground and she's hanging into it with her entire upper body.

One time, on a mission with multiple teams, one of the gigantic sniper dudes walked in on her pulling stuff from the pantry with BBQ tongs and walked right back out, too scared to offer help and offend her or worse, being unable to stop the laugh that just threatened to leave his throat. No one is brave or stupid enough to make fun of her, knowing it'll be a one-way-ticket to a cold, anonymous grave in the ditch somewhere.

The only person occasionally poking her and being allowed to do so is Clint, but he holds a special place in her heart, so that's okay.

Trust doesn't come easy for her, and yet she finds herself trusting her team. She likes them both, on a personal level even, which is more than unusual for her. She's also not the best at expressing her feelings.

So when one day, she just uses Clint instead of furniture to reach a high place, he doesn't blink an eye and just lets her do it, calmly moving on with whatever it is that he's doing. It becomes a thing after that. Just something small, not something either of them ever talks about, but it's clear to both of them that it is what it is – a small sign of friendship and trust.

At first, it's just him and that's how it goes for several months. Then, one early morning in a wooden cottage in Norway, she uses Phil as a human step ladder without thought or hesitation, and if she knew how happy that makes Clint, who watches the whole thing, she'd totally accuse him of being a sap and getting soft.

Very few people ever get this special treatment, and even fewer recognize it for what it is. Over the years, the number consistently stays the same. That is, until several months after the Battle of New York.

*+~

Natasha does it without thinking, early in the morning to reach her favorite spread in the giant pantry. Of course it's too high up once again, and Steve startles, not expecting anyone to be awake at this hour, much less to be climbed like a tree by one of his teammates.

“Isn't that more complicated than just asking for help?” he asks Natasha, who starts eating with a spoon straight from the jar.

“You're telling me you always asked for help when you were small?” she asks, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

“No, but I also didn't just... Climb people. I don't mind!” he adds quickly, “but that might just be because I couldn't breathe right, so...”

“You totally would have.”

Steve laughs at that. “I probably would have.”

*+~

“What the fuck.” Natasha is not impressed.

“Yeah, quick question, why did you think that I of all people around here would be tall enough for you to reach up there? The ceilings are way too high.”

“I had faith in you, Stark.”

“That's your own problem, I'm afraid.”

She sighs heavily. “Is Thor around?”

“Yup. I think he's in the kitchen. The microwave fascinates him.”

“Of course.”

Natasha hops down again and leaves the room.

*+~

It happens more and more frequently, her seeking out the people around her.

Part of it is new and exciting, part of it scares her – she's never had so many people to care about. Caring about someone always comes with the risk of losing them, and it's even worse when that involves more than two or three people.

Natasha also learns that she'd rather take this risk any day than being alone again. She doesn't like thinking about this, because there are the dark corners in her mind that whisper to her late at night or when she's tired or alone.

“ _Useless.”_ it whispers, _“Weak, depending on people!”_ but she firmly tells it to shut up, pushing it far, far back. Then, while it's quiet, she seeks out the company of her people.

Most nights, she ends up with Clint and Phil, who always have a place for her, be it on their couch with a movie and snacks, at the table with hot drinks and a hearty meal or a space in bed where she fits perfectly just in between them and calms herself to the presence and even breathing of these two people she loves most.

Some nights, later in life, she'll seek out the common floor and finds company there. Being an Avenger comes with insomnia, so finding companionship and a warm, _living_ person to share a space with is always possible. Sometimes, the whole team ends up there, and those are the nights when they move to the rec room, where the whole floor can be turned into one single cozy space with cushions and blankets, more than enough for all of them, and those are the nights they all sleep best.

*+~

**Prompt No. 60 – Human step ladder**


End file.
